Hair guard



Nov. 19, 1968 T. M. BATCHELOR HAIR GUARD Filed May 12 INVENTOR THOMAS M.BATCHELOR ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,411,517 HAIR GUARD Thomas M.Batchelor, 18060 Conant, Detroit, Mich. 48234 Filed May 12, 1966, Ser.No. 549,693 9 Claims. (Cl. 132--49) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The hairguard for protecting the hair of the user comprises a cage supporthaving a head strap adapted to be mounted in a substantially fixedposition on the head of the user so as to extend across the forehead andhaving a chin strap connected to the sides of the head strap and adaptedto extend under the chin of the user. A yieldable substantiallyself-supporting open mesh cage having air circulation openings is shapedto fit closely around the coilfure to retain the hair in properposition. A hinge connection is provided between the cage and the frontof the head strap to permit movement of the cage between a raisedposition exposing the coifiure and a lowered position surrounding andprotecting the coiffure. The hinge connection also includes key and lockelements for holding the cage in raised and lowered position.

This invention relates to a hair guard and has particular reference to ayieldable open mesh hair cage and support for holding and protecting thehair during setting or treating of the coiffure and for protecting thehair against disarrangement at other times, such as during sleep.

Accordingly, a principal object of the invention is to ropvide a new andimproved hair guard.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mesh type hair cage forsurrounding and holding the hair during treating, the cage being movableaway from the hair so that pins and curlers may be attached to orremoved from the hair as desired.

Another object of the invention is to provide a hair guard having adegree of resiliency or yieldability so as to serve as a cushion for thehead during sleep and prevent disarrangement of the hair without the useof conventional curlers, pins, etc. v

Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent as thedescription proceeds, especially when taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment of theinvention, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of the invention as worn by theuser;

FIGURE 2 is taken in the direction of arrow 2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURES 3 and 4 show different shaped hair cages for use with differentshaped hair-does or coiifures;

FIGURES 5 and 6 are sectional views taken along lines 55 and 66 ofFIGURE 2, respectively; and

FIGURE 7 is a perspective view of a hinge pin used to mount the haircage on the head attachment.

As illustrated in FIGURE 1, the invention includes a yielda-ble openmesh hair cage 10 preferably made of a plastic material and shaped so asto provide a close fit with the hair-do worn by the user. The cage 10 isheld in position on the head of the user by means of a supportattachment including U-shaped head band 12 and an adjustable chin strap14. The band 12 is fitted around the forehead of the user and extendsover the ears with the ends thereof being bent inwardly to engage thehead and prevent accidental movement thereof. The strap 14 is secured toeither side of the band 12 as'illustrated and includes an adjustableValpo snap, buckle or other suit- 3,411,517 Patented Nov. 19, 1968 ice vthe central bore of brackets 18 and 20 so that the key 24 thereon fitsin groove 26 in the central bore of each of the brackets 20 and one ofgrooves 28 and 30 in the central bore of bracket 18, depending upon theposition of the cage 10 relative to the support. The grooves 28 and 30and the space therebetween are enlarged somewhat relative to the pin 22to permit rotation of the hinge member 18 about pin 22 without having towithdraw the pin from the hinge. The pin 22 is provided with a head 32to prevent complete insertion within the hinge brackets.

When in use the hair cage is positioned as shown in FIGURE 1 so as tocompletely surround the hair and hold it in shape without the necessityof using hair pins and curlers. The cage 10 is rotatable about hinge 16from the position of FIGURE 1 as indicated by the arrow 34 so as tobring the key 24 into engagement with slot 30 to hold the cage in agenerally upright position away from the hair. When the cage is held inthis position the head strap 12 and chin strap 14 can be secured to thehead without disturbing the hair. Rotation of the cage about hinge 16does not disturb the coitfure, so that after the straps 12 and 14 aresecured to the head the cage can be freely positioned around the hair.The cage 10 is positively held in either the position shown in FIGURE 1or the position described away from the hair by key 24 so that theinvention may be worn without fear of the cage being accidentallydislodged or injured.

The hair cage may be formed in any of a number of shapes as indicated inFIGURES 1, 3 and 4 so as to closely fit around various types ofcoiifures. As indicated in FIGURES 3 and 4, the portions of the haircage adjacent the hinge member 18 may be reenforced at 36 and 38 toassure that the hinge member 18 does not break away from the cage as thecage is rotated on pin 22. The cage is preferably formed from a plasticmaterial having an open mesh to allow air to freely circulate throughthe cage and hair. The mesh openings also permit teasing wires to beinserted through the hair and tied to the cage to hold the hair inposition while an aerosol type hair spray is sprayed through the meshand onto the hair. The teasing wires hold the hair against the inside ofthe cage 10* so that the resultant coiffure retains the shape of thecage. Air circulating through the mesh aids in drying the hair spray andsetting the hair.

The invention is also useful to hold the hair in the coiffure shapeafter the coiffure is set by protecting the hair from being crushed orotherwise disturbed. The mesh preferably is somewhat flexible so thatwhen the cage and support are worn during sleeping the cage serves as apillow yet does not collapse sufficiently to permanently disturb thecoitfure. In this connection it may be useful to supplement the supportprovided by the cage 10 by means of a small pillow for the neck.

While I have disclosed three shapes of hair cages corresponding to threedifferent coitfures, it is obvious that cage 10 may be of any shapewhich permits rotation about hinge 16 away from the hair withoutdisturbing the coiffure. In some cases it may be desirable to utilizetwo hair cages to surround the entire coiffure, in which case the cagesmay be hinged to opposite sides of the head band 12 so that they may berotated away from the hair and the cage and support may be removed fromthe head without disturbing the coiffure.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. An adjustable hair guard for protecting the hair of the usercomprising a cage support having a head strap adapted to be mounted in asubstantially fixed position on the head of the user so as to extendacross the forehead, a yieldable, self-supporting open mesh cage adaptedto extend around the top and sides of the coiifure, and a hingeconnection between said cage and the front of said head strap to permitmovement of said cage between raised and lowered positions, with saidcage surrounding and protecting the coitfure when in the loweredposition, and with said cage exposing the coiffure when in said raisedposition.

2. The adjustable hair guard defined in claim 1 wherein said cage ismade from a plastic material having air circulation openings providedtherein, said openings permitting the hair to be treated by aircirculating through said cage when said cage is in the lowered position.

3. The adjustable hair guard defined in claim 1 wherein said cage isconstructed, arranged and shaped to closely fit around the coitfure toassist in retaining the hair in proper location therein.

4. The adjustable hair guard defined in claim 1, including means forreleasably retaining said cage in said raised and lowered positions.

5. The adjustable hair guard defined in claim 1, wherein said hingeconnection includes hinge knuckles secured respectively to said cage andthe front of said head strap and coupled together by a hinge pin, andmeans for releasably locking said hinge knuckles in relative positionscorresponding to the raised and lowered positions aforesaid of saidcage.

6. The adjustable hair guard defined in claim 5, wherein said releasablelocking means comprises a raised element on said hinge pin, one of saidknuckles being rotatable relative to said hinge pin and having angularlyspaced recesses adapted to receive and releasably retain said raisedelement, said hinge pin being non-rotatably connected to the other ofsaid knuckles.

7. The adjustable hair guard defined in claim 1, wherein said hingeconnection includes key and lock elements for holding said cage in saidraised and lowered positions.

8. The adjustable hair guard defined in claim 1, wherein said head strapis substantially U-shaped having arms adapted to extend around the sidesof the head and supported by the ears of the user, said arms being bowedinwardly toward each other and being adapted to yieldably engage thehead of the user to prevent accidental removal.

9. The adjustable hair guard defined in claim 8 wherein a chin strap isprovided, with opposite portions of said chin strap being connected tothe arms of said head band, said chin strap being adapted to extendaround the sides of the face and the chin of the user.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,375,381 4/1921 Golden l32491,616,800 2/1927 Hogan l3249 2,110,811 3/1938 Neaves 132--49 2,199,3955/1940 Dixon 13249 2,742,910 4/1956 Berg l3249 2,997,792 8/ 1961Strauss. 3,014,220 12/1961 Weld 132-49 XR 3,200,827 8/ 1965 Hill 13249FOREIGN PATENTS 117,729 1/1930 Austria.

LOUIS G. MANCENE, Primary Examiner.

R. PESHOCK, Assistant Examiner.

